Austin & Ally: Sparks Fly
by flyaway101
Summary: Austin and Ally had different plans for their own futures. The plan definitely didn't involve a love story, but can love bring these two together? AUSLLY. Rated T. Give it a read! :)


**First off, this is my first time writing something about Austin & Ally! My first story with this ship, so I hope yall like it, and please no bashing! :)**

**Nathan and Marissa are my OC's.. since I couldn't really think of a Disney pairing, or any pairing of that matter, to pair them up with. If you can think of one, let me know? I'll change the names. The guy is your average perfect guy, except he's super smart and always serious all the time, while the girl is a blonde ditz (she doesn't have to be blonde, just kinda always ecstatic and happy) who's always happy. I personally adore their story, it's really cute! **

**I strongly encourage you to please not skip any parts, I work hard on the character development of each character. It's a kind of mystery/thriller wrapped in love and romance. So it's up to you guys. If you skip, you might be confused as to what's going on with the story.**

**Another thing, Elliot in this story is nothing like the character in the show, except for the fact that he's Ally's childhood friend just like in the show. I just couldn't think of a better name, so I just used him. **

**Follow me on twitter and Instagram! - ILoveOlivia_xo**

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**Full Summary:**

**Austin had the perfect plan. To hurt Ally and get revenge. But what he didn't account for is falling for her in the process. When sparks fly, will Austin and Ally's love for each other overcome revenge? Their love finds a way of blossoming under the most unusual circumstances as they have their share of fun, bonding and romance in the story.**

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**Chapter 1: Dinner with a Gardener & Marissa's Ride Home  
**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN KICKIN' IT, AUSTIN AND ALLY, OR ANY OTHER DRAMAS ASSOCIATED. Sadly :( **

_Italics = flashbacks, emphasis on words for dialogue _

Jack, Austin, and Nathan are three brothers who live with their mother in the mountains in California, in a small city known as Amesville. Their father, Benjamin Clarke, works in L.A. as the chief security officer for wealthy businesswoman Jennifer Carlson. Kim, Ally and Marissa are the daughters of Jennifer. On the day of Kim's engagement to her fiancee Brett, a reporter named Hugh threatens Jennifer by vowing to spill her darkest secrets. Unable to bear the insult to his employer, Benjamin threatens the reporter. When, later, Hugh is found dead, all the blame falls on Benjamin; he is arrested on the charge of murder. Jack and Austin come to L.A. to bail their father out from jail, while Nathan is at a career recruitment camp, where he meets Jennifer Carlson's youngest daughter, Marissa.

Last time on Sparks Fly (see Kickin' It version of story if you want the KICK part before this. Keep in mind you don't have to I'm recapping the gist of it in this chapter for you since some of you may not read/like Kickin' It), we saw that Austin was showing a keen interest in the Carlsons' new guest that would arrive that evening, Elliot Stevenson. Jack also told him that nobody has no idea what he looks like at all, since Elliot is Ally's childhood friend. To get into the Carlson mansion, he poses as Elliot Stevenson, and pretends to be Jennifer's personal secretary in front of Elliot when he arrives at Hotel Keya International in an effort to stop him from going to dinner so he can go to dinner at the Carlsons' instead of him. And that's where our story takes off.

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**AUSTIN'S POV**

I was standing in the courtyard of Jennifer's property, my feet on the gold textured tiles that were paved on the ground. I looked ahead and saw a very flourishing and lavish garden in a greenhouse. "Man, is this a sight to see! There's flowers everywhere here!" I put on my auburn coloured shades, and walked inside the greenhouse, admiring all the different varieties of flowers that were blossoming.

"Well. This'll be a great memory for the Carlsons'. I'll give them flowers from their own garden." I said, as I walked down one aisle of the room, picking a yellow tulip, then a pink carnation with traces of white around the petals, and finally picked a red rose. What I didn't expect however, was water to be sprayed on me as I pick out the rose. Trickles of water continually splashed down on me. _Aw crap! You gotta be kidding me! _I looked up from picking the flowers to see water constantly being sprinkled on me as if it was coming from a sprinkler or a watering pail. Great, now my whole blazer is wet. Hmm, the water is coming from the flowers. But how? I squinted my eyes at the flowers in front of me, and saw traces of pink clothing, belonging to a dress perhaps in the midst of the flowers. Wait, does that mean someone behind the flowers is watering them? I took off my shades, and started to move some leaves that are attached to the flowers in front of me in an effort to see the person that sprinkled and sprayed my whole blazer. I couldn't quite make it out though. For sure, there was someone there. And I think it's a girl, cause I saw glimpses of the features of her face, and then some parts of her brown hair. And even though I couldn't make her out quite clearly, one thing I definitely could make out was her smile. It was the most beautiful smile I'd ever seen. It made me feel different, definitely not like all the other girls I've checked out.

"Who's there?" I called out. I could sense the girl's movements in reaction to my words, and saw glimpses of her figure move from left to right through the leaves, searching for the source of what she was hearing.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" She called out to the other side of the flowers she was watering. As she kept moving on her feet slightly to make out who the other person on the side of the flowers was, she called out to me, "I didn't know there's... someone here." She said her last two words in slight annoyance, probably fed up of trying to see me.

_Wow. She's got the voice of an angel. So sweet, so serene. _I wonder.. if her voice sounds like that, imagine what she prolly looks like! I turned and walked down the aisle to get to the other side and meet her.

**ALLY'S POV **

I set my water pail on the long table with all the flowers on it, and turned to walk down the aisle so I could get to the other side and see the man I sprinkled water all over. I feel so bad. I'll just go over and explain that it was an accident and totally didn't mean to do it on purpose. But as I turned and made one step forward with my right foot, I felt some kind of force pulling me back. I slightly turned around gently to find my long pink scarf matching my simple and casual pink dress caught in a thorn in a plant that was on the ground in a pot. I bent down, gently pulled my scarf away from the thorn so as not to tear it in any way, and moved my flowy net patterned scarf with me as I stood up. However, in the process my scarf gently touched a man's face in front of me, and my scarf fell back down, resting back down on my shoulders back to its previous position.

**AUSTIN'S POV**

When I finally got to the other side of the aisle, I stood in front of her, her back facing me as she turned around in my direction. As she was turning around though, her scarf flew over my face gracefully and back to her. And then we came face to face. She was beautiful, to say the least. A smile unconsciously crept up on my face while I stared at her. She looked down, lightly and shyly blushing. I didn't move my gaze from her face. I couldn't help it, she was just so pretty. Her eyes, her hair, her face, everything about her made me awe-struck. She looked back up again, her eyes fixed on my eyes. We just kept staring and admiring each other in silence, as if we were in a trance, and no one was around us. Hey, _technically_ no one _was_ around us, except for all these flowers.

The girl must've snapped out of the trance, because she moved her gaze away from my eyes uncomfortably toward the ground, this time not bringing her gaze right back up to my eyes. This caused me to snap out of my trance as well. Wait. Austin what were you doing?! You never look at girls like that, girls look at you that way. What's wrong with me? This has never happened before. Ok, Austin get a hold of yourself. I shook it off, "You're so weird." I said to her.

She looked up from the ground to look at me.

"Who waters plants at this time in the night?" _I mean, seriously. It's like 8 pm. _

_"_Sorry, but who wears _dark shades_ in the night?" She said politely in rebuttal, pointing and gesturing to the shades I was holding in my right hand.

_Funny._ "Hey. These aren't dark shades. They're an _auburn_ colour, for your information." "And anyways, what's it to you?" She turned her head away from my direction, upset, slight anger showing on her face.

I turned my head slightly to the side away from her, muttering to myself under my breath in a low voice, "Just because she's got a pretty face doesn't mean she can say anything she wants." The girl looked up again at me. "What did you say?"

I turned my head back to the direction of her face. "Being a gardener, you have the audacity to talk back to a master?"

The girl's mouth gaped wide open in what seemed like shock or surprised. "Aren't you ashamed of yourself?" I said to her.

"Gardener?! You called me a gardener?!" She said louder, very shocked.

I chuckled slightly. "Okay, fine. A gardener that's female." She opened her mouth to object, but I didn't let her speak. "But first, you should _probably_ learn how to properly talk to a master." "And anyways, you ruined my clothes", I continued, gesturing towards my sprinkled-wet blazer. "And now you're bent on ruining my mood." "Just go do your work, k." I said annoyed, and turned around to walk away. I walked forwards a little and started to pick out another rose. But she intervened yet again.

"Hey, wait." She said nicely but aggravated at the same time. I stopped midway and looked at her. "You're not allowed to pick flowers from here." She said matter-of-factly. I walked back to her.

"Look. I've already let your first mistake go." She opened her mouth again, and yet again I cut her off. "But now you're just overdoing it." "Maybe you don't know who I am." "Do you?" She shook her head left to right slightly, in an innocent manner. "No, right? Then go and do your work." The girl brought her hand up to her face and slightly pushed away her bangs on her forehead. But in the process, she ended up leaving some soil from probably watering some flower pots on her forehead.

"But first..." I gestured with my hand to a spot on her forehead when she put her hand back down. She looked very confused at first, and then started to rub her forehead with her other hand, but stopped midway.

"Hey, why do you keep calling me a gardener?!" She said slightly louder, but still maintaining her poise. I rolled my eyes. "Can't you just ask me my name?" She continued, sounding more annoyed.

"I don't care what your name is, you're still a gardener at the end of the day!" She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath in a very annoyed manner, as if she was tired of trying to explain something to me. But I was too bent on this whole gardener thing to notice. "And being a gardener, you have the _audacity_ to talk back to a master?" I turned my head slightly to the side, rolling my eyes. _Like really. Who does this girl think she is?_

**ALLY'S POV**

I don't believe this! Of all things, he thinks I'm a gardener? Yea no. I gotta clear this up. "Look, my name is - " But he grunted loudly in an annoyed manner, and cut me off, "Look. I know. You're a girl. And a good-looking one at that." I immediately looked down and blushed down slightly, pushing a few strands of my hair off of my face and tucking them behind my ear. _Wow, he really thinks I'm pretty? Nobody ever says I'm pretty. _For pretty much my whole life, I never thought I was pretty. 'Cause nobody really told me otherwise except for my sisters and mother. Whenever I'd go out, I'd always be called ugly or loser, and other demeaning names. I even went out on a blind date once, but the guy I was supposed to be on a date with walked right past me and sat at another girl's table. And that girl was actually very pretty. And then both of them gossiped and made fun of me while I looked like an idiot waiting. They made comments on my super simple clothes I wear, or my simple straight hair, or how I don't deserve the title of being a Carlson. After that incident, I started to believe everyone. I thought, _Maybe they're right._ Maybe I never _will_ find my Mr. Right. I don't deserve anyone.

But when he said I'm pretty, I couldn't help but blush. All that people had said to me, all the gossip, the taunts... it was as if none of it mattered. I was flattered that he thought I was good-looking. The man's next words brought me out my thoughts.

"You know what'll happen if I make a complaint against you inside?" He said, sounding as if he was trying to threaten me. How do I explain to him that I'm not a gardener?

"I'm a nice guy, so that's why I'm letting you go." _Yea, doesn't seem so nice to me._ "If it were anyone else, you would've been fired by now." I shook my head slightly, trying to say and explain to him who I was, but he just kept on going! "Got that, _gardener?_" He smiled, his sparkly white teeth glistening in the night. I opened my mouth to speak again, but he started to walk away out of the greenhouse. Realizing he isn't going to listen to me anytime soon, I turned around the other direction, deciding to resume watering the plants again.

"Who is this guy? He's in _my_ house, and he doesn't even know who I am?" I thought aloud.

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**AUSTIN'S POV**

I walked through the garden, where there was an even more beautiful and breathtaking variety of flowers. Flower beds all around me. I kept walking further out of the greenhouse until I had reached my destination. I had reached the forlorn mansion of Jennifer Carlson. The mansion was huge, needless to say, with elegant marble coloured shiny and glistening stairs descending from the front steps of the home, stopping at a glossy marble and granite platform where there was a desk-like area, 2 security officers (or that's what it looked like) sitting behind the desk. From that platform, there was another set of stairs, similar to the stairs above, descending down to the marble floor that I was currently standing on. Behind me was a humongous swimming pool, probably the size of an Olympics swimming pool. Wow, Ms. Jennifer sure has got the life! Finally, I'll be able to get some evidence that I can use to bail my father out.

I walked up the stairs, and greeted the two security officers seated behind their desk. After all the formalities were done, I was finally escorted into her lavish mansion through the main doors by a security guard. My eyes wandered all around everything that was before me. There was a huge living area with a curved sectional sofa, its length spanning the entire living room in a curved shape, which might I add, was pretty humongous to say the least. In the center of the large living room was a large oakwood coffee table, with a glass finishing on the surface. The main hall, foyer, or whatever you want to call it was huge as well, and the lavish dining area was located behind the living room. The dining table was so long my whole extended family from Amesville could be seated and have dinner together. But then, my eyes zoned in on the one thing that stopped me from thinking about how lavish and luxurious this home was. The one thing was in the living room, conversing with three butlers around it, probably ordering them as to how the night was to be planned. It was the reason I decided to pose as Elliot Stevenson in the first place. The reason I'm here in this house right now.

The one and only. Jennifer Carlson. The smile that was previously on my face, showing light-heartedness and a good mood, had now turned into a thin line, showing emotions of only focused hatred and negativity towards Jennifer. Seeing her in the flesh had just made my blood boil, flashbacks of seeing my morose father with handcuffs tied to his hands sitting on a hard uncomfortable chair by his jail cell in prison came up in my mind. She finally turned around in my direction, and looked at me in a nice manner, nothing like how I was eyeing her. Ok Austin, you can do this. Put aside your feelings, and put your charm on. You're doing this to get your father out of jail, remember. Just be chivalrous, charming, and plain nice. Easy enough. I shook my feelings off, and put one of my charming million dollar smiles on my face, walking confidently towards Jennifer.

"Auntie Jennifer!" I called out politely and finally stood in front of her. She had a smile on her face, indicating that she "recognizes" me. "Yes! You recognized me." I brought out a yellow flower from my blazer and brought it out in front of her. "Here's a flower from a loved one." I said charmingly. "It's so fresh that you could think of it coming from your own garden." I continued with a smile, and Jennifer flashed a genuine smile right back. To make this even more believable, I reached out for a hug, which Jennifer gladly accepted. "God bless you, dear." I cringed slightly when she said this to me while I still had my arms wrapped around her back. Little did she know who I really am, and why I've come here. And I _definitely_ don't need _your_ blessings, Jennifer Carlson. You're the reason my dad's in jail right now. You have no idea how much it pained me to hug you right now. I pulled away after a few moments.

Jennifer kept looking at me. She still had her smile on her face, but I couldn't help but feel she was looking at me in a weird way. Uh-oh, what if she's having doubts about how I look, and how Elliot should look. That's not good. My face's composure changed, and I walked a few feet away from her further into the living area, for dramatic effect of course. "I know why you're looking at me like that."

"I mean, the Elliot you knew was really fat, short, and had a really skinny high-pitched voice; and the Elliot that's standing before you now is tall, not fat, (I chuckled slightly), and has a deep voice." "But Auntie, I had to change. Y'know, for all the ladies." "That's what all the ladies go for, after all." I turned around to face her again. "But it's a different matter that I don't go after those kind of girls." _Yep, that's cause all the ladies go after me_.

All of a sudden, Jennifer and I heard a female voice saying "Mom", and I looked ahead to see a girl wearing a green dress with cream coloured tights. The girl looked about two years older than me, and also looked at me quite weirdly, as if she was trying to remember who I was. _Weird, why is she eyeing me like that?_ Her eyes just spelled suspicion all over them.

_AH SHIT! _ That's the girl with the gun! If she recognizes me in any way, then I'm a goner!

I guess I should fill you in. Recently, a few days ago, my father was arrested, and me and Jack were talking and conversing about how we would find out Jennifer's weakness so we could use it against her and get her to admit why she put our father in jail. It then occurred to me that Jennifer had not one weakness, but 3. Her 3 daughters. Acting hastily and in anger, I decided to kidnap one of her daughters and then blackmail her. But Jack, being the noble goody-two shoes of the family, firmly rejected my decision. So going behind Jack's back, I went on with my plan. And well, let's just say it didn't quite go as I planned. When I kidnapped the girl and brought her to an old dilapidated building, another girl came suddenly and pointed her gun at me. I immediately released her from my arms.

Actually, even before the girl with the gun came, I was going to let the girl I had captive go. I don't know, as soon as I had my hands around her in an effort to harness her, I felt immediately guilty. _Austin, this isn't right. Hurting an innocent girl just to take advantage of Jennifer. Not cool. _I was just about to let her go, when I felt the tip of a gun touching my head. Now that I think about it, it wasn't such a great idea to kidnap one of the Carlson daughters. That girl still had her gun pointed at my face, which was covered by a ski mask. _"Take the mask off! NOW!" _She had ordered me. I let go of the girl I was holding, and she immediately scampered hurriedly to the girl's side, as if there were related in some way. Well duh Austin they had to be related if she came to her rescue. Anyways, I was scared out of my life, and was just about to remove my mask, when in the nick of time, Jack came in between us, riding on a motorcycle with style, a white bandana like cloth covering his whole face except for his eyes. It was actually so cool! It was like a typical scene from an action movie. You know, like Tom Cruise. Jack took a hold of the gun in the girl's hands, unconsciously putting his hands over hers that were moulded around the gun. The girl was very surprised at this, and became frozen like a statue in awe. Jack took advantage of this and immediately loosened her grip that she had on the gun, causing Jack to throw the gun into the air. The gun kept rotating and revolving in the air higher and higher until gravity took control again and the gun started to rotate in the air downwards. The girl smoothly caught it with her right hand, rotating it around with her fingers, ready to shoot. Little did she know that my brother and I had already started to sped off out of the building. She still didn't give up, pulling the trigger numerous times at us while we rapidly drove out of there, each time the bullet ricocheting off the metal of the bike.

Jennifer's thoughts brought me out of my flashback and back to the real scene. "You recognize him Kim? It's Elliot, the kid you used to trouble the most as a kid."

I decided to take control of the situation before it gets out of hand. "Oh right, Kim!" Kim slowly walked up to me and Jennifer, still eyeing me with slight suspicion. _Oh no Austin, this can't be good._ I brought out another flower from the inside pocket of my blazer, the white carnation with traces of pink around its outer petals, and brought it out in front of her. "Here's a pink carnation for our cutest, naughtiest Kim." I said charmingly, or at least I thought I did. But Kim's face expression didn't change. Not even a smile! Her lips were still in a thin line, as if she was concentrated, focused, and pondering over a serious matter. The worst part is, she didn't even acknowledge my flower. And then she said those fearful words.

"I've seen you somewhere before." I turned my gaze away from her, my pupils practically shooting out of my eyes. _Oh that's it Austin, you're gonna get it soon._ But that's so weird. How come she saw Jack earlier today but she didn't recognize him at all, and his face was less covered than mine! "But where?" She continued, deep in thought.

I kept looking at her uncomfortably, trying to put on the confident act, but it wasn't working too well, with her constantly eyeing me with suspicion.

"Where would you see _him_, Kim? He just arrived today, and that too after so many years." Jennifer tried to reason with her daughter.

"No no, Auntie. It's quite alright. Kim's right." Kim shifted her gaze uncomfortably away from me and left to right subtly. "You know what they say. There are often two people that look alike for every person that exists in the world." "Maybe Kim saw another man that just had the same face as me." I lightly chuckled in fear. "Right Kim?"

But Kim didn't smile. "No, I didn't mean it like that." "If I could just remember where I've seen you..." She trailed off, intensely concentrating.

I moved my gaze away from her and turned my head away slightly to mutter under my breath, "Then you're dead meat, Austin!" "Do something before you get caught."

I started to rub on my right arm up and down using my left arm, as if I was sore and in pain. "It was such a long flight." I lamented, indicating how tired I was.

Thankfully, Jennifer _Auntie_ saved the day. "Kim. Are you even gonna let him relax, or do you intend on interrogating him the whole night?"

Kim looked down guiltily and stopped looking at me with those suspicious eyes of hers. OH THANK GOD! Jennifer motioned the both of us to sit down on the sectional sofa nearby.

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**NO POV**

Marissa was currently seated in the back seat of her BMW on her way home to the Carlson mansion. Now usually, whenever she was coming back home, she'd be ecstatic. Her usual preppy, ditsy, overenergetic self. Always smiling, without a care in the world.

But today was a different story. Marissa sulked back into her seat, her lips formed a thin line across a face, no smile visible anywhere. It was as if her smile had been zipped up and packed away on a very long holiday. Even Marissa was unsure as to why she was so sad and morose.

_I'm going home. But this time, I'm not happy about it. Why?_

Flashbacks started to reappear into her mind once again. Every time she tried to not think of it, it would just come back and haunt her. It was no use. This time, she just let the flashbacks enter her mind freely, enjoying the moments she had recently had at the career recruitment camp.

_I was just about to fall off the ledge, and expected to feel my body thump to the ground. I sharply closed my eyes, my hands covering my face in fear of the impact, just waiting for my back to collide with the hard ground beneath me. _

_But the impact of my body with the hard ground never came. In fact, I felt like I was in mid-air, almost as if the warm presence of a body was holding me up. It then occurred to me that someone had caught me before I hit the ground and was carrying me bridal style. And the weird part is, I'd never felt so safe, so serene before, in the arms of a stranger. I slowly and very cautiously moved my hands away from my face and saw him for the first time. He was handsome, to say the least. From the way he was holding me, I could easily tell he was really strong, and had a toned stomach. It would be no surprise if he had a six-pack. And when I looked at his face directly, I noticed the features on his face. He had these eyes that were chocolately brown. Wow, I thought dreamily, in a daze. And his lips, they looked so kissable. _

_I was still dreamily staring at him as he turned around slightly, and gently let me down to sit on the ledge I was going to fall off of, but never did._

The flashback ended. Another flashback played in my head like a movie.

_I was sitting down on the ledge, my feet dangling off the edge. The boy who had just saved me was standing before me. Boy, he was pretty tall. Then again, I'm sitting down. But wait, he's the guy. He's supposed to be taller than me. I was brought out of my tall-short debate when he spoke, bringing out his right hand in the air in front of me, as if he was asking for a handshake. A greeting of some sort. _

_"Nathan." _

_Wow. I said in my mind, with dreamy effect of course. His name is perfect too! I like that, Nathan._

Then I remembered the time he saved me from that fire in the building near the campsite.

_Fire was blazing all around us, Nathan had jumped and dashed dangerously all across and over the ablazed logs that were stopping him from reaching me inside the room, which now didn't look like the room of a building. More like blazed remains. He finally got to where I was, and stood in front of me, trying to maintain calm, frantic worry still evident on his face nonetheless. But, at the same time, I was scared out of my life. Fear was evidently stricken all over my face, and I suppose Nathan could see that, since what he did next suddenly surprised me. He extended one arm around my back, and the other around the back of my legs, swooping me up into his arms bridal style. I was looking into his eyes. I kept looking into his chocolate-coloured eyes, now noticing that they were a very bold chocolate colour, and there was a slight tint of green in them. He nodded slightly to me, assuring me that he wouldn't let anything happen to me, breaking the thoughts I was pondering over his eyes. Wow, it's like he can read my thoughts. I was super scared of the fire, but as soon as I came into his arms, I couldn't feel safer. Wow. Since when did I become so cliche. But it was so true. I really did feel safe whenever I was with him. _

Marissa came back to the world she was surrounded in. Sitting in her car in the backseat, twiddling her thumbs that were on her lap. That was the past, and after what she did, even if it was by accident, she knew he would never want to talk to her ever again. Maybe that's the reason she was so sad, the fear of knowing that she would never see him again, and even if she did, _he_ would never want to see _her_ face again.

She let out a deep sigh in a depressed manner. The car had come to a stop, and jerked slightly forward, waking her from her enchanted memories of Nathan. She decided to think about something else. Something that would make her happier and not all depressed. _Hey, Marissa. Just think about your sisters, how happy you'll be to see them again! You haven't seen them in 3 days! _My conscience told me nonchalantly. Of course, how could I forget. She thought to herself. Her sisters meant the world to her, she should be happy to see them again, but she wasn't as happy as she thought. _  
_

"Paul, how long till we get there?" She called out to her driver in front of her in the drivers' seat. He was wearing a white cap with black around the rim, and of course, a white shirt and pants to match.

The driver turned around slowly, and as he did, Marissa's face grew ecstatic with joy. Marissa saw Nathan in her driver's attire smiling his million-dollar charming smile at her.

_EEEEEP! _She screamed in a high-pitched voice in her head. It's actually him! _YAYYY! _She kept admiring him and looking into his eyes. Her once sullen mood had changed into her normal ecstatic energetic one. She kept staring at him as if she was in a trance, and it was just her and him.

Nathan repetitively kept saying Ma'am again and again.

_Huh? Why is Nathan calling me Ma'am? He usually calls me Marissa._ I stopped staring dreamily into his eyes, and looked at him more closely.

Nathan's face was no longer visible, and in place was the recognizable face of her driver Paul.

"Ma'am, there's still two hours to go." "Ma'am? Can you hear me?"

_And to think I really thought it was him. You're so silly Marissa. How would Nathan be your driver? You're thinking way too much about him, he's driving you crazy! _

"Yea yea ok thanks." She said nicely, but still slightly annoyed that her fantasy of Nathan with her, even if it was as a driver, was broken.

Once again, she sulked back into her seat again, staring through the window to her left. Her face instantly lit up as she rolled down the window excitedly. She looked out into the car beside her in traffic, once again seeing Nathan in the back seat. She had a bright 1000-watt smile on her face as she once again admired him with her doll eyes, batting her eyelashes at him. Once again, she instantly changed into her peppy ecstatic energetic self.

A few moments later, that million-dollar smile situated on her face started to fade and turned into a disappointed thin line across her face. When she looked out the window, she didn't see Nathan anymore, but instead saw a creepy 50-year-old man that was creepily staring at her. She shuddered, obviously creeped out, and adjusted back into her seat, looking away from the mirror in disgust.

_What's wrong with me?! I'm dreaming about him with my eyes open! That's a definite first._

An hour passed away excruciatingly slow, and Marissa would be home in an hour. As she looked out the window, she saw trickles and droplets of rain cascading down her window in a flourish. She looked away from the window again, and just stared into space, starting to talk to herself. It always helped her calm down.

"Sorry Nathan." "I always kept annoying and troubling you, and you always have helped me in my time of need." _I mean, think about it Marissa. The ledge, the fire, the interview in front of all the others, and then our project too! _"Will you _ever_ be able to forgive me?" She knew it would be hard, but deep inside, she had a light hope that Nathan would forgive her for what she did some day.

* * *

"I'LL NEVER FORGIVE HER MOM!" Nathan declared at the dinner table back in Amesville, practically shouting at the top of his lungs, hands balled up into fists, pounding onto the oak table that had his food laid out for him to eat by his sweet mother.

"I know, dear." She said sarcastically, letting out a large sigh from her mouth, as she brought out another soft taco shell from the hot container and put it on Nathan's plate. As she was doing this, she said, "You've been saying that for the past hour." "Don't fret Nathan, I'm sure you'll get another job."

"Mom. It's not about whether I'll get another job." Nathan's face boiled up with anger, his fists still pounding onto the table repeatedly. "I wouldn't have minded at all if I lost the job because of me." "But the fact that I lost the job because of HER," I immediately pounded my fist against the table again when I said HER, "that's what just makes me so MAD!"

Nathan's mother stopped serving his food to him, facing him lovingly. "Nathan. There are so many jobs out there. If not this one, then another one." She said cheerfully, trying to console her fuming son. "Here." She made a quick taco and brought it up to his mouth so he could take a bite. Nathan willingly opened his mouth, and savoured the bite with all the different Mexican flavours in his mouth. His mother flashed a smile his way, and made her way towards the kitchen. But as soon as she left the dining area, Nathan went back to his sullen self, his mouth formed into a thin line across his face.

* * *

**AUSTIN'S POV**

"Well, I've met up with you two." I said, seated on the edge of a large plush beige sectional sofa in the living area. "But Marissa and my CHILDHOOD BEST FRIEND ALLY are nowhere to be seen!" I said with enthusiasm and ecstasy. I couldn't wait to see her and get my charm on.

Ms. Carlson smiled at my gesture, and slightly chuckled as well. "I mean, I thought I'd see HER first out of all of you." I said that in the nicest and most polite way possible.

Just then the two ladies seated in front of me were about to make a remark, a sweet beautiful voice could be heard by my ears. "Mom?" The voice called out.

I lit up like Christmas lights wrapped around a Christmas tree, and snapped my fingers in delight. "ALLY!" "Speak of the angel, and here she is!" I declared. I swiftly got up off the warm plush leather seat on the sofa I was seated on in ecstasy, and turned around to look for her. I mean, I heard from all the rumours that all three of Ms. Carlson's daughters are gems, so I couldn't wait to see how beautiful Ally was. I already knew we would get along the first time, and hit it off from the first start!

I saw her slender figure slowly walk down the hallway and approach the living room we were in. I decided to start from the bottom and then save her no doubtedly beautiful face for last. You know what they say, save the best for last. As I slowly looked her up, my jaw dropped in shock. The once ecstatic smile that was framed on my face disappeared, instead showing expressions of shock and astonishment on my face.

That girl, that's the girl from the garden earlier! Oh, you're in deep shit now, Austin!

I was so dead _meat_ right about now.

And I wasn't the only one with an o-face. As "Ally" approached the living room with each step, the sound of tapping between the bottom of her flats, her face whose lips once formed a gleaming smile on it anxious to meet her so-called "childhood friend Elliot Stevenson", now changed to an o-shape revealing shock, surprise. It wasn't long before we were both face to face, neither of us sure what to say.

Before either of us could gather our breaths to say something, I heard the voice of Ms. Carlson.

"So. Recognize your _bestfriend_?"

Soon after, I heard the footsteps of both Kim and Ms. Carlson, approaching the both of us from behind and say the following, "Ally, this is Elliot. Recognize him?" She said in a loving and carefree manner.

Upon hearing her mother's words, Ally looked once more from her mother's direction to my direction. Her face was unreadable. I just couldn't tell what she was thinking. I mean, I'm Austin for cryin' out loud! I play girls like no tomorrow, it's usually so easy for me to read girls and then win them over instantly. But this one, I just don't know. I wasn't getting any signals that I could use to save myself from this predicament right now.

And I still couldn't get over the fact how badly I screwed up. I mean, SHE'S Ally?! The garden girl is ALLY? She doesn't dress nor behave like a Carlson at all. From the few minutes I know of her, she's pretty down to earth. Like THE ALLY CARLSON? I thought with a very confused and perplexed look on my face. Well, at least I thought I thought it, until Ally nodded her head up and down in a shy manner.

Wait. Did I just say her name out loud? Aw shit. Man, today is just not my day. I looked at her again. I was still so confused and shocked! How can she be ALLY CARLSON? The Carlsons' are known for being pompous and dressing like they're all that. But this girl, she's just wearing a simple knee-high pink dress. My thoughts were interrupted when Kim raised her voice to speak.

"I thought you said you would recognize her in an instant." I looked her way briefly, still confused. "You're looking at her like you don't even know who you've seen!"

_Calm Austin, Calm. You're losing your charm. Cmon man, get a hold of yourself. _I looked towards Kim's way again, starting to explain myself. "No uh, ghost! You know what they say, looking at someone as if you've seen a ghost." I slightly chuckled at the end, trying to lighten up. Ally, Kim, and Ms. Carlson all started to laugh, but me, well that's another story. But the moment Ally spoke, all my apprehension faded away like a movie transition fades to the next clip.

"Hi Elliot." She said in a nice manner, as if that scene in the greenhouse had never happened.

"Hi." I managed to say back softly, my breath flustered, my word choking in the air. My face in a dizzy.

Ally returned my hi with a smile, and then spoke again with a frowned face. _Oh no_. "What hi. We're meeting each other after so many years, and you're saying hi SO softly?"

_Uh-Oh. You're in for it now Austin_. I was speechless. "No, uh - " , moving my head slightly trying to justify myself. But Ally just started smiling, as if I was a confused puppy.

"Do you still remember me, or... did you forget me _again_?" She said, her face turning from a simple smile into a large smirk. "No, uh.. - " I managed to choke out again. I could tell she was enjoying this, as she was laughing and smiling like there was no tomorrow.

_AW FREAK. As soon as she gets a chance, she's gonna blow your cover Austin! Think dude, think. You gotta do something, before you get your ass kicked outta here! _

"Well, you couldn't recognize me the first time." She said with a teasing smile. "Do you recognize me now, or..."

I couldn't help but smile at her when she teased me like that. It was kinda cute. Kim brought me out of my thoughts.

"HUH? Or what?" Kim asked, confused.

I intervened with a shaky laugh. "No no, nothing like that at all. Hehe." And it really wasn't helping that Ally was enjoying how tensed and uneasy I was. "She's kidding." I chuckled, trying to convince Kim. But no, Ally wouldn't have it.

She stopped smiling, and with a straight thin line formed across her face, she said, "I'm not kidding." As if she was so innocent. Yeah right.

"No uh, that's between us right?" I said pleadingly to her. I was so uneasy that my hands were shivering in fear. This girl is gonna be the end of me! And Kim just had to interfere.

"No no no." Kim intervened. "Tell us the whole thing." She demanded. Just like an overprotective big sister would. But I was beginning to think she was just being nozy. "What's going on that's so special between you two that you don't want to share with us?" She said bluntly, with a slight tease in her voice. I mean, I took her question normally, but Ally here started blushing to no bounds. It's like somebody put tomato paint all over her cheeks.

"Kim, stop it." She said politely, still immensely blushing and looking down at the ground.

_THAT'S IT! She's got a bad case of blushing, and such a shy smile. YES! I found a way, Austin! _I said to my own conscience, doing a happy dance in my head.

Time to activate the AUSTIN charm.

"No no, why don't you tell them? Now that they've asked, go on." I told her slightly teasingly.

Her face dropped instantly, looking as if she was unsure how to react.

"All right, all right. Forget it. I'll just go right ahead and say it." I looked at Kim and Ms. Carlson briefly, and then back at a confused and perplexed Ally.

I faced Kim and Ms. Carlson once again. "Actually, today.. I made a mistake." Kim and Ms. Carlson looked at each other, utterly confused. "I mean, it happens all the time, but.. today," I slowly turned to look at Ally again. "I made a very grave mistake." I looked deep and charmingly into her eyes. She looked right back at me, confused as to where I was going with this. I could tell she was feeling a little tiny bit awkward, so I faced Kim and Ms. Carlson again, "Actually what happened today was that, I met a very cute, a very beautiful girl." As I said this, I slowly turned from facing Kim and Ms. Carlson to Ally. I found her looking at the ground, and slowly raising her eyes up to look at me so I could look into her big, brown pools of eyes. They were beautiful, dazzling in the light.

_WAIT WHAT? DID I JUST THINK THAT? FOCUS AUSTIN FOCUS._

I looked back at Kim and said, "And everything happened so fast and suddenly that I later on realized that I _might_ have said a little too much to her", I finished, ending to look back at Ally's face. I mean, hey she's really cute. I couldn't help but look her up and down.

_AUSTIN. GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF. FOCUS ON THE TARGET, THE TARGET. _

Right. The target. I looked back at my target, Jennifer Carlson, and spoke again. "But I just couldn't help it Auntie. When I saw her face, I couldn't even remember whether it was _day_ or _night_", finishing again to look at Ally.

My tactic was working. She was speechless, her eyes roaming at the ground, left to right, anywhere but at me, her cheeks a rose colour. A wide smile spread across my face, YES. Austin's plans never fail, I said pompously to my conscience.

* * *

**NO POV**

Ally was as red as a tomato. She couldn't take it anymore. She had to speak up before she could get any redder. "Okay now forget all this. The rest of the story?" Ally said expectantly towards Elliot, rather the man she thought was Elliot. She really hoped he wouldn't say anymore.

Thank God Austin agreed with her on this, at least. "OK." "The rest of the story... between us. Our childhood secret, right?" He said assuringly to her in a pacifying manner., snapping his fingers at the end to seal the deal.

Ally shook her head left to right and smiled, breathing a sigh of relief. _Oh Thank Goodness. _

But Kim was still as confused as before. She liked being on top of things, and when she wasn't, well.. she would get to the top of things. She liked being in the know-all. She raised her voice to raise a question for Austin once again.

"You said you guys met just today." Kim said to Austin, quite confused. _I mean, I don't get this whole childhood secret thing? What's exactly cookin' here?_

Ally looked at her sister, and didn't know where she was going with this. But Austin, on the other hand... by the look on his face, he looked quite uneasy. _Oh no. Here we go. This girl's sister is gonna screw me over, I just know it! She needs to stop being so __nozy! _

Kim looked briefly at her mother, and spoke again, "then how is it a _childhood secret_?"

_Oh you're in for it now, Austin._ He looked at Ally for any signs of help from her on how to get out of this one, and he saw her crossing her fingers and squinting her eyes in a pleading manner, as if she was feeling really guilty for what she would say next.

"Kim." Ally slightly giggled to laugh the matter off and make it light-hearted. "You won't understand." Kim rolled her eyes toward her mother. _Of course I won't understand. I never understand when it comes to you two. _She thought teasingly in her mind. Ally continued, "It's our childhood secret."

Austin smiled at Kim and went along with whatever Ally was saying. As long as he didn't get in trouble, whatever she said was fine with him! "He just thought I would tell everyone, that's all." Ally nicely explained to her sister. "I mean, look at him. That's why he stopped, mid-way his sentence." She looked at him assuringly and told him in a light whisper sincerely, "I won't tell."

Austin looked at her sweetly and felt a sudden pang of guilt in him. Here he was, possibly set to use Ally for his own revenge needs; and here she was, trying all she could to save his behind. For a second, he thought that maybe what he was doing wasn't right. But all of his feelings of guilt went away when Jennifer Carlson slightly chuckled and spoke. No. He was right. He was here on a mission and he HAD to stay focused no matter what. Jennifer didn't think once before ruining his father's life so why should he care about her daughter's? And anyways, Ally was only doing all this because she's under the impression that he was Elliot.

"Ok enough of all this." Jennifer intervened. "Let him sit peacefully. C'mon let's go." She motioned to everyone standing in the main foyer, a little ways away from the living area. Everyone nodded in response, and Jennifer and Kim left to seat themselves in the living room.

That left Austin and Ally standing alone and by themselves in the lonely foyer. Ally took some steps and started to walk into the living room, when she felt a hand on her hand. A tingling sensation instantly shot up inside of her, and she looked up to see Austin looking down at her lovingly, his hand intertwined with her hand right in front of her. And Ally wasn't the only one who was shocked. Austin also had an o-face, but not for the same reason as Ally. While Ally was blushing a crimson red, Austin was shocked on his own behavior. Why did he take her hand like that? He just knew he wanted to apologize and thank her for taking the blame, but this hand-holding wasn't part of it. Ally wasn't the only one blushing. Both Ally and Austin got themselves together, and Austin finally slowly and gently released his hand's grip off Ally's hand. Ally was still blushing, and decided to look at the ground to prevent further embarrassment.

Austin collected himself, and knelt down slightly to look at Ally into her eyes, since she was a little shorter than him. But Ally kept looking at the ground, no way is she looking up at him so he can clearly see her bright red blushing cheeks.

"I'm sorry." He said in a gentleman-like manner, pleading for forgiveness. "PLEASE forgive me." Austin continued, bowing his head slightly down in front of her in a pleading manner. "At least take into account our friendship of all these years. Or else I won't be able to show my face in front of anyone!" He begged her, still maintaining his sweet charm and carefree nature.

Ally kept quiet and didn't say anything. Austin tried again to ask forgiveness. "I'm sorry, gardener." He said, posing his sentence rather as a question than a statement.

As soon as Ally heard the word "gardener," her eyes instantly shifted from the ground, or whatever she was looking at, (cause it definitely wasn't at him), right at him. _Did he just call me a gardener AGAIN? _

Austin instantly realized what he just said and squinted his eyes in remorse and regret. He immediately corrected himself. "Sorry, _Ally_?"

Ally was at a loss for words, touched by his kind gesture and gentle nature. She muttered a series of umm's and uhh's in an effort to get something out. Eventually, she took a deep breath, and started again. "No worries." She told him. "The truth is, I couldn't recognize you either." She admitted to him truthfully. _I mean, if we're playing the honest game here, I might as well tell him my side as well._ Austin shot her a warm smile, relieved he wasn't the only one at fault; and Austin's smile was so contagious that it made Ally instantly smile as well. A comfortable silence was passing between them, one that was not at all awkward. It was perfect.

Too bad their "perfect" moment was short-lived. Austin suddenly heard a somewhat loud voice in his ear, "What's going on?" He was slightly disappointed that their moment was ruined, and turned around to see Kim peeking over his shoulder. Both Ally and Austin looked at Kim and started to briefly blush. It seemed as if Kim didn't notice, and went on with her conversation. "Shall we?" Austin got himself together, and nodded, leaving the foyer for the dining room.

As soon as Austin made his way out, Kim rushed to Ally's side and hummed in a teasing manner. _That's right. Don't think I didn't notice that moment that went on between you two_. She wrapped a hand around Ally's shoulders in a comforting manner. "What were you two talking about, _all alone_?" She teased again. Ally was about to blush again, "Kim, please!" She pleaded to her sister to stop teasing her and causing her to blush. "What please?" Kim objected, as if she was innocent and naive and had no idea why Kim was blushing so much. Oh, how Kim loved to play games with her sister. But she also loved her all the same.

"Cmon let's go." Ally motioned to her sister. Kim perked up and agreed, both of them leaving for the living room.

* * *

Everyone was finally seated in the living room. Kim and Ally were seated on one end of a sectional sofa, while Austin was seated a little bit aways on the same sofa. Jennifer was sitting on an adjacent couch.

Ally admired Austin as he conversed with Jennifer politely on various topics. She got him all wrong. At first, she thought of him as a self-centred, egotistic jerk, and recalled the events that recently played in the greenhouse.

_"...My scarf gently touched a man's face in front of me, and my scarf fell back down, resting back down on my shoulders back to its previous position." _

She remembered that flashback as if that was a thing of the past, and continued to watch him talk to her mother. She had another flashback of the greenhouse moments, when Austin, or Elliot rather she thought, pointed and gestured with his fingers toward Ally's forehead smeared with dirt.

She kept admiring him until she felt a light nudge on her upper arm. She looked beside her to see Kim gleaming at her suggestively, but Ally looked at Kim as if she had no idea what she was getting at. Kim kept gleaming at her, and she just kept shaking it off. Kim finally spoke, and spoke in a low voice so no one else would hear except for her darling sister. "I had no idea he would grow up to be _SO_ handsome." She told Ally. "What do _you_ think?" She teased her. She was an Ally and Elliot shipper from the start.

"Don't even think about it." Ally warned Kim. She'd had enough of Marissa's suggestive gestures whenever she'd see a hot guy and then would try to pair me up with them one way or another. And besides, Elliot to her was just a friend. She also thought she wasn't worth him. _I mean, look at him, and look at me. He's so good-looking, and I'm, well, the average Ally. Just average. I bet he could get any girl he wants. _

Kim and Ally started to stare at him again and started laughing, recalling the most stupid and hilarious pranks Kim had pulled on him as a kid.

"Oh, would you two stop laughing like that." Ms. Carlson spoke up, thinking they were laughing at Elliot. "Why are you annoying the poor thing?"

Austin slightly got up out of his position on the sectional sofa and placed the glass of water he had in his hands onto the extravagant coffee table in front of him, allowing the sound of a small clink between the surface of the table and the glass to be heard. "No no Auntie. That's quite alright. Let them speak. And anyways, I'm not the old Elliot Stevenson anymore. " He looked at Ally and Kim snickering at him. He looked back and forth at Jennifer and her daughters while he said, "_They_ probably don't know that _now_ I can tell how their personality is just by reading their faces." He said with pride.

Kim wasn't buying it for one second. "Really. Is that so." She said in a relaxed manner to Austin.

Austin's face wasn't backing down either. _Oh you know it_.

_Time to put his so-called "face-reading" skills to the test._ Kim thought to herself. "So tell me. What am I?" She challenged him.

"You?"

"Alright, let's do this." Austin put a hand under his chin, going to deep into thought. He tried to remember all the things that Jack had told him about Kim. _I mean, cmon he was ranting about her all day all the time! Of course, they weren't the most positive things he talked about, well not to Jack. If I didn't know any better, I would've totally thought he had a crush on her! _

_Back to the scene. Right. _

Austin still had his hand under his chin and began to speak."You think that..." He pondered for a bit._ Cmon Austin think._ Kim was waiting for a response. "... that there's no difference between man and woman." Kim looked quite surprised. _Wait, I actually do think that._ Even Jennifer looked quite surprised at Austin's accurate response. Austin continued. "That this world belongs equally to women... as it does to men." He said, pondering aloud. Kim looked at him with intense concentration, trying to figure out how he was being so accurate. Even Ally was slightly surprised. _Impressive_, she thought. Austin continued once again. "And out of the two, neither is weaker." _Wow, he's spot on! But how..._ Kim thought to herself, pondering. Austin interrupted her mind predicament. "Wait a minute." He said, as if he was some kind of astrologer or fortune teller that could read more pages of Kim's life. "Horseback riding, driving fast cars..." Ally looked at Austin then back at Kim in shock and surprise. _Whoa, but Kim loves to horseback ride and drive fast sportscars! Spot-on! _A clear o-face was visible on Ally's face. While Ally was in her state of confusion and shock, Austin continued. "...target shooting, (clearing up what he means) like gun target shooting and all..."

Now it was Kim's turn for an o-face. _What the? How is this even possible? How could he read all my interests and hobbies from my FACE?! I mean, that too... from ELLIOT? I mean, he was such a dork! But this guy.. he carries himself so well! __It's like he's a completely different person! _Austin still continued. ".. you like doing all of that, right?"

"And all that... is written on my _face_?" She posed as a question to Austin, still skeptical of this whole face-reading thing.

Austin slightly chuckled in response, and rubbed the palms of his hands together in amusement. _Oh dear Kim, if you only knew._ "Well, the lines of the face tell all." He said in a joking manner, impersonating a fortune teller. Kim immediately reacted to this jokingly as well. "_WOW!" _That was the charm that Austin had. He was so outgoing, charming, and carefree that he could set the mood of any conversation. The environment had gone from slightly tense to a very carefree and lighthearded mood.

"In all these years, not only have you gotten slimmer by physique, but you've also gotten smarter in the head." Kim complimented Austin.

_Wow. A compliment. And to think Jack said this girl's too stuck up to give compliments to anyone else. She seems just fine to me. I still think Jack's just saying that cause he's crushing on her, and maybe even Kim is playing hard to get! You know what they say, opposites attract... _Austin thought in his mind.

"Ok. Do one thing." Kim nicely told Austin. Austin nodded slightly in response. "_Now_, (she slightly paused), tell us about your _best friend_."

"Kim!" Jennifer immediately scolded Kim. She thought that Kim had tortured him enough when they were little, and now she didn't want the poor boy being annoyed once again. Even though she really just met him as a grown man a few moments ago, she had already been developing a soft spot for him, more than ever before in childhood.

"Mom... what if it's a first time fluke?" She teased.

Austin felt jokingly insulted. "Really now!" He said in a slightly insulted, slightly teasing, and slightly gentleman-like way. "Ok then, we'll do this a second time." He repositioned himself on the couch, ready to take on his new challenge. He paused for quite a long time, well, longer than the pondering he did for Kim. This time, he really had to think.. he really had no idea what Ally was like. She was like a closed book for him right now. But he still didn't give up, he tried to gather his thoughts as he thought of how she was thus far.

"You..." Ally looked at Austin expectantly, waiting for a response from him. She was eager to know what Austin would tell her after witnessing how accurate and spot-on he was with Kim. "As fragile as you look..." Austin pondered some more, and Ally expectantly still looked at Austin. "... your heart is more fragile." Ally slightly blushed upon hearing his words. And this definitely didn't go unnoticed by Kim.

Austin continued his analysis. "And...that's why... you tend to blush a little as well." He told her frankly. Ally looked down and blushed once again. _Ugh. Ally you're doing it again. Stop blushing like an idiot! _"In fact, _I _think that YOU tend to be a little shy at times as well." _He's right. I am kind of shy. But __not with my sisters. They're the only ones who see the real me. _"And... just like every beautiful girl out there, you're also waiting for a guy." Ally's head immediately shot up from her lap towards Austin's face, looking deep into his brown pools of eyes. The atmosphere had changed from a lighthearted joking one to a meaningful and caring atmosphere.

"A guy who, the moment you look at him, you say." Austin snapped his fingers. "That's him! He's the one." Ally was stuck admiring him in awe. _How? What? Why? Although I know I'm not that pretty, I had always thought that one day, I would meet my prince charming, my "one", who would love me for me. _Ally turned her face away from him. _Oh no, not the blushing again. _Austin continuing his fortune wasn't helping Ally's blushing predicament. "And your eyes..." Austin said to her, truly mesmerized in them. Austin was just about to say what he thought about her eyes, but before he could, Ally intervened.

"Ok, enough." She said, to get out of the situation, and got off the sofa to leave. But before she could take one more step, Kim took a hold of her wrist, and wringed her back onto her spot on the couch.

"Wait. Where are you off to?" Kim said to her. She faced Austin, awaiting his response to a comment about Ally's eyes. "So what were you saying about her eyes?"

Austin looked deep into Ally's chocolate brown eyes. "There's this kind of mesmerizing _magic_ in her eyes that..." At that point in time, he really was mesmerized by her eyes. For the first time in his life, _Austin, THE Austin Clarke, _was being mesmerized by a girl's eyes. In fact, he was so mesmerized that he couldn't form any coherent words beyond "that." Unconscious and unaware of the fact, he just kept saying "that" over and over repeatedly again as he looked deep into her pools of eyes.

Kim was getting impatient. _After all, what does he have to say about her eyes? _"That?"

Austin came back from cloud 9 and fell to the ground. "That just makes me go crazy! Just like when we were little." He teased. Everyone started laughing along with Austin. But what had gotten into him? What was that? Why, for the first time, was Austin failing to think of charming compliments and started to stutter? What was so special about her? He didn't know, and he didn't even want to know. He laughed the matter off.

"Well. You're definitely crazy." Ally told Austin. "And as for the guy of my dreams... I'm pretty sure he would never call me a _GARDENER_." She teased him, and started to smile to herself.

As soon as Austin heard those words, Austin's happy face swiftly turned into a huge o-face. _This girl is gonna be the end of me! And no, I don't mean in that sense! You're a goner for sure if this keeps up! _

Kim was utterly confused, to say the least. She looked at Jennifer in a hope that she would get an explanation for this "gardener" comment. Maybe her mother knew about this?

Austin looked at Ally and knew she was enjoying this. _Man, what have I gotten myself into? _

"Gardener?" Jennifer questioned. She was just as perplexed and confused as Kim.

Austin decided to take control of the situation before it got worse. "No Auntie, it's - " But before he could answer and explain, his iPhone had started to ring. He took out his phone from his pocket located on his blazer, and politely said, "one second." He checked the caller id on his phone, and his eyes widened on the name that was on his screen.

_**JACK BROTHA.** Oh no. I can't pick up the call right now. If I do, Jack will instantly know everything, and then I'm sure DEAD MEAT! __He's gonna beat the living pulp out of me._

Kim silently whispered into Ally's ears, who was looking at Austin's tensed face. "I'm _positively sure _it's probably some girlfriend of his from the UK."

Austin didn't pick up, and let the call go to voicemail. "Yeah, uhh it was just a call from a friend." He explained to Kim.

Kim didn't really care whose phone it was. "Ok whatever, leave all that." She wanted to talk about something far different. "What's this whole "gardener" thing about?"

Oh dear. Austin was in a fix. Ally and Austin both hesitated, and failed to speak and form words.

Kim looked at Ally with determination. "Who called you a gardener." She said to her. _How dare someone have the guts to call MY sister, I mean, MY SISTER a GARDENER?! We're CARLSONS, not some servants. _For Kim, the whole world was one side, and her family, her sisters, another. Her sisters meant the world to her. If anyone so as to even tried to put even a hair on any of her sisters, well, courtesy of Kim Carlson, they'd be wringed by their neck and dead meat in an instant. And that's exactly what Austin was afraid of.

**Ok gonna stop there. What did yall think? Will Austin be exposed? Will he be able to find more evidence for his father? Find out next time on Sparks Fly! :) Please review, your feedback means the world to me! :) **


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